Cape Coast!

Hey!

Julian, Necha, and I decided to go away for our first weekend here because it was the only time we would all be together! Necha is not here for very long and I was heading up north on the Monday so we wanted to do something fun the only weekend we could. We decided to go to Cape Coast, which is just west of Accra. We took a TroTro to Cape Coast, which took about three hours- luckily it was air-conditioned!

The Oasis Beach Resort view

Our beautiful green room...

We settled into what was probably the weirdest guesthouse ever… We went into the room with bright green walls and two beds, each with a fan above them. It was hot and pretty dirty, but we took it anyways. It didn’t take long before we left the guesthouse and went to a place called Oasis Beach Resort, which is where we wanted to stay but it was full- so we went there for dinner. This location was beautiful. It was literally right on the beach and we sat under little huts by the palm trees listening to the ocean waves. It was very relaxing and beautiful. We had dinner and some drinks and then watched an acrobatic show of a man and a little boy, which was quite impressive. He balanced multiple objects and did many flips! Following this we decided to go to sleep in our guesthouse. We went into the room and there was no air circulation so we were forced to turn the fans on- bad idea. Dirt and dust flew everywhere and it was even dirtier than before. But we all laughed, brushed it off, and attempted to sleep! The next day is where the fun begins!

Canopy Walk, Kakum National Park

We woke up bright and early with the help from some roosters. We went to the Oasis Beach Resort for breakfast and then headed up to Kakum National Park, which was about an hour away. Here we did a canopy walk in the rainforest. This was both terrifying and absolutely beautiful! The swinging bridges were apparently made with the help of Canadians… although they were made out of old ladders and planks of wood. We walked across all seven of them safely, hanging on with our dear lives! It was an adventure to say the least and every time we saw a platform at the end of the bridge we were able to breathe again. It was really fun and the views were gorgeous!

Walking on canopies in the rainforest!

Following this we went to a place called Hans Cottage, this is where we met our friend the crocodile. We met a lovely lady named Mary who assisted us with the crocodile as we sat on him and took pictures! This was also scary but the crocodile seemed very tame and sleepy so we weren’t that nervous!

Necha, Julian and I at the Cape Coast Castle

We then returned to the area by the ocean where we did a tour of the Cape Coast castle where men and women were held for slavery. This was heart wrenching and really hard to wrap my head around. We went into the men’s dungeon where there were three small windows and no lights. Many men went blind in the dungeon after spending 2 weeks to 3 months there. There were also no bathrooms, so they would just go wherever. It was really difficult to picture the amount of people put into these dungeons, as the rooms were so small. I left the dungeon and already my eyes hurt while they tried to adjust to the bright sunshine. I couldn’t imagine what some of the men went through after three months! We then went to see the women’s dungeons where we were told that many women got raped and if they got pregnant they could leave the castle to have their baby. This confused me a bit, and I just kept thinking about how getting raped was almost like an incentive for the women because they did have a chance of getting pregnant. So if they got pregnant than they could get out of the castle, at least for a while. Another thing I found difficult about the castle is how beautiful it was. It is a historic place of horrible memories but looking at it now, it is so beautiful as it overlooks the ocean. It’s strange how these types of horrific historic sites eventually turn into beautiful places to visit. The contrast is quite interesting to me and I found it fascinating!

Following the castle tour we took a walk along the beach and got bombarded by beautiful Ghanaian girls trying to sell us fruit. We continued to decline but they walked hand in hand with us along the beach anyways. Once we got back to the Oasis Beach Resort to have a late lunch they continued to beg for money. Necha and I felt extremely bad because they had taken pictures with us and let us try their baskets that they carried on their heads. Necha gave each girl a coin and I bought a bottle of water for the one I was walking with and told her to share. Although it wasn’t much to give, you could tell they were so appreciative of it.

The beautiful girls we met on the beach!

This continues to be one of the struggles I face. There are so many people to help and it’s really hard to tell yourself “one person at a time” because you just want to help them all. Someday. Someday it will happen. (Optimistic, -and maybe naïve- I know). One way to better understand this is what I learnt on my first humanitarian trip and will always remember… the story of the starfish! (see image below)

Lots of love,

Bianca

Me and the sunset! Cape Coast